Cloudflare’s Q3 2026 analysis recorded 49 Internet disruptions worldwide, with Iraq accounting for 18 government-directed shutdowns and power failures highlighting connectivity vulnerabilities across several African countries.
Cloudflare has released its Q3 2026 Internet Disruptions Report, highlighting how government-directed shutdowns, electricity failures, geopolitical conflicts and natural disasters continue to affect global Internet connectivity.
The findings place particular attention on the Middle East and Africa (MEA), where incidents in Iraq and Ethiopia, alongside electricity-related disruptions across African countries, demonstrate the importance of resilient digital infrastructure.
Published through the Cloudflare Radar platform, the report identified 49 Internet disruptions worldwide between July and September 2026. Government-directed shutdowns accounted for 19 incidents, including 18 in Iraq associated with national examinations. Power outages represented the second-largest category, with 14 incidents across 10 countries, while natural disasters caused five disruptions.
The analysis highlights that reliable Internet access depends on more than telecommunications networks. Electricity availability, physical connectivity, government policies, environmental conditions and the resilience of individual networks all influence the continuity of digital services for businesses, governments and communities.
Iraq Records 18 Government-Directed Internet Shutdowns
Iraq accounted for 18 of the 19 government-directed Internet shutdowns recorded worldwide during the third quarter of 2026.
The restrictions were implemented around national examinations, with individual shutdowns lasting between 15 and 90 minutes. Most incidents occurred between August 26 and September 28.
The findings demonstrate how government policy decisions can directly affect national Internet availability and disrupt access to digital services.
Conflict in Ethiopia Disrupts Regional Connectivity
Renewed fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region coincided with a government-directed Internet shutdown lasting 10 days.
Internet traffic in the affected region declined by 100%, while the impact extended to the national level, where HTTP traffic fell by as much as 30%.
The incident highlights the vulnerability of communications infrastructure during political instability and humanitarian emergencies, when reliable connectivity is particularly important for information access and coordination.
Power Outages Expose Connectivity Weaknesses Across Africa
Cloudflare recorded power-related Internet disruptions in Kenya, Eswatini, Botswana and Gabon, among other countries.
Eswatini also experienced planned load-shedding, illustrating how limited electricity availability can affect telecommunications services. Globally, the report identified 14 power-related disruptions across 10 countries during the quarter.
The findings reinforce the connection between electricity infrastructure and Internet availability, particularly in regions where telecommunications networks depend on consistent power supplies.
Infrastructure Failures and Natural Disasters Affect Global Internet Availability
The report also identified several incidents outside the MEA region that demonstrate how localized infrastructure problems can have wider consequences.
A power failure at an interconnection facility in Honduras affected at least 11 major providers. During the approximately three-hour outage, national HTTP traffic declined by 63%, highlighting the risks associated with concentrated traffic exchange points and insufficient redundancy.
Natural disasters also affected connectivity during the quarter. Super Typhoon Bavi followed Sinlaku by less than three months, contributing to two major storm-related Internet disruptions in Guam within a single year.
In Colombia, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake resulted in a four-and-a-half-day Internet disruption after damage to fibre-optic infrastructure compounded the impact of the disaster.
Other incidents included a cooling system failure at a Phoenix data centre that caused Internet traffic from Namecheap to fall almost entirely, while Portugal’s MEO experienced an outage following a reported mass attack.
These examples show that established networks remain exposed to technical failures, power disruptions and security-related incidents regardless of their infrastructure maturity.
Digital Resilience Becomes a Priority for MEA Governments and Enterprises
Cloudflare’s Q3 findings highlight the interconnected nature of digital resilience across the Middle East and Africa. Reliable connectivity has become essential for economic activity, public services, financial transactions, communications and the delivery of critical services.
Iraq’s examination-related shutdowns represent a significant portion of the worldwide government-directed disruptions. Although individual incidents were relatively brief, their repeated occurrence demonstrates how connectivity restrictions can affect individuals, businesses and digital services beyond their immediate purpose.
In Ethiopia, the 10-day disruption in Tigray illustrates the broader consequences of Internet restrictions during conflict. Connectivity plays an important role not only in commercial activities but also in helping communities access information, coordinate assistance and maintain communication during humanitarian emergencies.
Power-related incidents in Kenya, Botswana, Eswatini and Gabon further emphasize the dependence of telecommunications infrastructure on reliable electricity supplies.
Mobile base stations, routers, data centres and interconnection facilities require continuous power to maintain connectivity. Investments in backup power systems, network redundancy, alternative connectivity routes and geographically distributed infrastructure are therefore important elements of digital resilience.
For enterprises operating across MEA, these developments also highlight the need for stronger business continuity planning. Organizations increasingly dependent on cloud applications, digital payments, connected operations and distributed workforces must consider how local infrastructure failures could affect services across multiple markets.
Cloudflare Highlights the Need for Stronger Digital Infrastructure
As digital transformation, cloud adoption and AI-driven services continue expanding across the Middle East and Africa, dependable Internet connectivity will become increasingly important for regional competitiveness and economic growth.
The report emphasizes that network infrastructure alone cannot guarantee resilience. Governments, telecommunications providers, cloud operators and enterprises need to collaborate on improving power redundancy, diversifying connectivity routes, strengthening disaster preparedness and ensuring critical digital services remain operational during disruptions.
Cloudflare Radar will continue monitoring Internet connectivity worldwide, providing visibility into disruptions and helping organizations understand the infrastructure dependencies supporting the global Internet.
About the Report
Cloudflare’s Q3 2026 Internet Disruptions Report, titled What Took the Internet Offline in Q3 2026, examines 49 Internet disruptions recorded worldwide between July and September 2026.
The analysis covers government-directed shutdowns, electricity outages, natural disasters, geopolitical conflicts and technical failures affecting Internet connectivity.